Chinese Food at home

 Ok, so I feel like it has been forever since I have shared anything other than reviews. Now I LOVE all of these great products I am having the chance to share with all of you, I feel blessed to be able to do so ...but I also miss sharing a little bit of our everyday life with you. So...I am actually at a slow point with my reviews , and I know its only going to last a few days because the past two days the mail has been crazy...and I have a lot of items I am waiting on..so I am taking advantage of the next two days or so and I am going to share some recipes or other fun things with you! :)

  So, I don't know about you but we LOVE Chinese food! Our kids will tolerate it, but my hubby and I love it. Sometimes when we want a date night but can't find a sitter we will put the kids in bed and my hubby will go out for a late run for carryout Chinese and we will pull out the sofa bed, chow down and watch a movie. It is honestly one of my favorite "routine" date nights.

 A couple of weeks ago I decided to try a Chinese meal for dinner at home. I have a recipe that we all LOVE and I have been making for a few years for Fried Rice, but normally I make it as a one dish meal...so this time I decided to try a new recipe for Sweet and Sour Chicken that I have been eyeing for awhile on Pinterest. This meal was such a hit that I decided to share both recipes with you today! I seriously have been meaning to share the Fried Rice recipe FOREVER!!! This has just given me the extra push to do so. :)

Vegetable Fried Rice:
 -3 Tbsp soy sauce
 -1 tsp sugar
 -1/4 cup vegetable oil
 -3 large eggs, lightly beaten
 -3 garlic cloves, minced
 -2 tsp minced , peeled fresh ginger (I always forget to buy this, so I use ground ginger)
 -5 cups cold cooked rice (I normally make my rice the morning of)
 -1/2 tsp salt
 -4 scallions, white and light green parts, chopped
 -1 12oz bag mixed frozen veggies , such as Birds Eye Asian Medley (I use a different variety almost everytime, just to change things up)
 -2 tsp. sesame oil

1. In a small bowl, stir together soy sauce and sugar. Heat 2 Tbsp. vegetable oil in a wok or large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add eggs and cook, stirring once or twice until just set. Transfer to a small bowl and wipe out pan.

2. Heat remaining 2 Tbsp. oil in same pan. Saute garlic and ginger 30 seconds. Add rice and salt and stir fry until heated through and starting to crisp, 3 to 4 minutes. Add soy sauce mixture, scallions and vegetables and stir fry until heated through, 3 to 5 minutes. Return egg to pan and stir fry until just combined. Drizzle with sesame oil and serve.

**** I have made this so many times and on occasion have forgot a few ingredients, scallions, ginger...etc... and its still been great! But YOU MUST use the sesame oil everytime!! For me it totally makes the recipe!!*

Baked Sweet and Sour Chicken

The chicken coating:

3-4 boneless chicken breasts

salt + pepper

1 cup cornstarch

2 eggs, beaten

1/4 cup canola oil

The sweet and sour sauce:

3/4 cup sugar

4 tbs ketchup

1/2 cup distilled white vinegar

1 tbs soy sauce

1 tsp garlic salt

       Start by preheating your oven to 325 degrees. Rinse your chicken breasts in water and then cut into cubes. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Dip chicken into the cornstarch to coat then dip into the eggs.  Heat your 1/4 cup oil in a large skillet and cook your chicken until browned but not cooked through. Place the chicken in a 9x13 greased baking dish. Mix all of your sweet and sour sauce ingredients in a bowl with a whisk and then pour evenly over the chicken. Bake for one hour and during the baking process you will need to turn the chicken every 15 minutes. 

 I do apologize that I have NO pictures of the process of either of these recipes, but honestly I didn't plan to share until I took my first bite! I took a bite of this chicken and thought "why in the world do we ever go out for Chinese!" it is delicious!!! 

  

Even our kiddos loved it! The both asked for more! (and remember I said, they don't really care for Chinese food!)

 Also, like I mentioned in a previous post we have been having my parents and my brother over for dinner for the past month or so because they are having their kitchen remodeled, this was a hit with everyone!! My mom is normally a BIG NO to Chinese food because she says her stomach is always upset the day after, not the case with these recipes!!! So please, give em a try and let me know what you think :)